Toy for



Feb. 28, 1956 F. B. LEWIS, JR 2,736,131

I TOY FOR BEDRIDDEN CHILDREN Filed Nov. 12, 1954 Tran/r .3. la W15 Jr.

at J? This inventlonrelates tojtoys and refers more particularly to a toy which is "especially adapted for entertaining a bedridden child.

It is well known that young childremwhe-n confined to bed by illness or injury, are-'ditficult to entertain. Very young children-areUriable to read, and even those who have learned to-read soon become tired of doing so. To prevent the child from becoming bo red "and fretful it is therefore often necessary for an adult to devote much valuable-time to his entertainment.

With this in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide a toy for young childreneomp'r'ising one or more three=dimensional figureswhichcan be made toinove in a lifelike manner without use of the hands, and which toy is therefore especially well suited for the entertainment of bedridden children.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a toy for bedridden children which is adapted for convenient installation on a bed and which, because it comprises realistically movable figures, is able to hold a childs attention and to entertain him for long periods of time.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a toy embodying the principles of this invention shown installed on a bed for the amusement of an occupant of the bed; and

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a toy per se of the type shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 5 designates generally the toy of this invention, which is intended to be installed on a bed 6 occupied by a child in such a manner as to enable the child to view the toy from a supine position.

The toy comprises a sheet 8 of supple material such as closely woven fabric or pliable plastic, to which is secured a three dimensional figure 9. The supple sheet 8 is intended to be supported in such a manner as to be held substantially horizontal but with different parts of the sheet fiatwise movable relative to the remainder thereof.

Preferably, the figure is made so that a portion of it is movable with respect to the remainder thereof, so that portions of the figure will flex and move realistically in consequence of motion of the supple sheet on which it is mounted. Obviously a group of figurines could be tcsPatent mounted onthe sheet and the several-figurines" would be set in motion relative to one another as the supple I sheet is moved.

The-.fs'upp1 sheet 8 is suspended from a frame 16 adapted to be installed on'a bed and the frame comprises an elongated base 17-havinga pair of upright standards 18 at "each end thereof from which standards the sheet to fit beneath the mattress on a bed, crosswise thereof,

a and, by reason of thetelescoping relationshipof the tubular-base members, is-lengthwise .adjustable to suit the'width of. the bed with which it is used.

The standards ateach end of the frame comprise a pair of tubular standardmembers 23, one secured to each of thetelescoping base members, and a U-shaped -member 24, the legs of which telescope down into the tubular standard members 23. To each of the .legs

of the U-shaped member is attached a securement means "26 by whichthe sheet 8 is .supported'from-theframe,

and because thelegs of the U-shaped rnember-are telescopingly'adjustable up and down inthe tubular standard members, the height of the sheet 8 above the bed is readilyadjustable. Each of: the securernent means 26 may comprise a coiled tension spring 27 secured at one end to a leg of a U-shaped standard member and having a hook 28 at its other end.

So that the books 23 will exert an even, uniform tension on the sheet 8, the two hooks on the standards at each end of the frame are engageable with rods 29 which extend across the sheet in casings 30 at each end of the sheet. Apertures 31 in each casing permit the hooks to engage the rod therein, and each rod is angularly bent, as at 32, at the points where the hooks engage it to prevent endwise displacement of the rods and thus preclude lateral displacement of the sheet. If desired, the springs 27 may be employed at only one end of the frame, the hooks 28 which support the other end of the sheet being attached directly to the standards; or the springs may be omitted entirely, although their presence insures that the sheet will move in response to the slightest force.

The standards 18 are preferably hingedly connected to the base, as by means of rivets 33 which provide pivotal connections between the outer ends of the telescoping tubular base members and the lower end portions of the tubular standard members. Thus pivoted, the standards may be swung outwardly and downwardly from their upright operative positions to the position shown by broken lines in Figure 1 to facilitate making the bed without the necessity for removing the frame.

With this construction, it will be noted that the tension springs 27 thus cooperate with the sheet 8 to hold the standards in their upright operative positions defined by their engagement With the opposite sides of the mattress on the bed.

The inventon is especially suitable where a child is to be confined to a bed for an extended period of time, since the sheet 8 may be very quickly secured to and detached from the frame and the standards of the frame may be quickly swung down out of the way when access must be had to the bed or patient. The invention has. the further advantage that it may be set on a table or on the floor, where a child can actuate it by manually moving the sheet, it being understood that when so used, suitable stops are provided to prevent the springs 27 from swinging the standards toward one another beyond substantially vertical positions. When placed on a bed, the standards are adjusted so that the supple sheet 8 a is directly above the childs knees or hips, so that the toy will be actuated by every movement of his body.

Since no manual manipulation of the toy is necessary, the toy of this invention is especially suitable for handicapped children, encouraging them to make such body motions as they are capable of, so that the toy has a definite therapeutic value.

From the foregoing description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that this invention provides a toy which is especially suitable for bedridden children, including those who are physically handicapped, which toy will provide hours of entertainment for such children by virtue of its animation and motion but nevertheless need not be manually manipulated by the child.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A toy comprising: a frame having an elongated base adapted to fit beneath a mattress on a bed and to extend thereacross, and upright standards at the'ends of the base adapted to project above the bedclothes on a bed on which the frame is installed, at opposite sides of the bed; a sheet of supple material; cooperating fastening means on said standards of the frame and said sheet of supple material for securing said sheet to the frame with the sheet supported in a substantially horizontal position between said standards and spaced above the base of the frame a substantial distance so as to be supported above the bedclothes on a bed on which the frame is installed, said fastening means holding the sheet in a manner to permit different parts thereof to be moved with respect to said standards; and a three dimensional figure secured to said sheet and projecting up from the upper surface thereof, a portion of said figure being movable with respect to the remainder thereof so that movement of said sheet with respect to the standards creates the effect of animation of said figure by causing motion of said part thereof.

2. The toy set forth in claim 1 wherein said fastening means comprise resilient tensioning elements for yieldingly holding the sheet in a substantially taut condition.

3. A toy comprising: a sheet of supple material; a three dimensional figure secured to said sheet and projecting up from the upper surface thereof so that flatwise motion of different parts of the sheet causes the figure to assume different attitudes to thus create the effect of animation of the figure; and means for supporting the sheet in a substantially horizontal position and in a manner permitting different parts of the sheet to be flatwise movable with respect to the remainder thereof, said means comprising a supporting member attachable to a part of a bed with portions thereof adjacent to each side of the bed, a standard pivotally mounted on each of said portions of the supporting member for swinging movement to and from an upright operative position in which the standard projects above the top of the bed clothes, and detachable connections between the sheet and the standards whereby the sheet holds the standards in upright position but allows the standards to be swung down when the sheet is disconnected therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 535,896 Fritsche Mar. 19, 1895 

